What Now?
by FlexManSteel
Summary: Eragon has defeated the king, but what is there left to do? First Inheritance Fanfic, constructive criticism is thanked, as are good reviews. Rated T because I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

Eragon sat on a cliff overlooking Gil'ead. They had won, he had finally killed the king, plunging Brisingr into the traitor's heart. What little followers he had at that point quickly gave up and peace was restored, yet Eragon felt empty inside. He looked down at the destroyed city, at the ecstatic people celebrating in the streets, at his dragon at the edge of the city, conversing with Eridor.

Saphira had already laid eggs, those eggs already hatched. There was nothing left for Eragon in this world, he had no one but Saphira now. _What now? _he asked her, not sure what to do.

_Now we can do anything we wish. We can live in peace. _He heard her respond through their mental link.

_Peace… _Eragon let the word roll around in his head for a bit. He wondered if he could really live in peace, could he live watching those he loved die of age? The one he loved most live on without him?

_Eragon, don't think like that. You can find someone else. Live long enough and there's bound to be another woman you'll love, one that we both love. _

_Saphira, do you really think that someone like Arya can come again? Even if that happens she is bound to be human, the elves don't reproduce much. So __**if **__I happen to find someone else, eventually they will die of age and I will live on, worse than before. _

Saphira didn't know what to say to that. What could she? Eventually an elf would come along? That would do nothing. So Eragon just sat there, sad that he had no use in life anymore. Arya had been trained and so she could teach whatever new rider came along, if not her than the two others that Saphira's eggs hatched for. There would be no king, but a council made of all the races.

Eragon was so mixed up in his thoughts that he did not hear someone walking up behind him.

"Eragon, why are you not celebrating?" a melodic voice said behind him. She sat next to him looking at him with a hint of concern on her face. They had become close enough for her to show him her feelings, but no one else. It was just another torture for Eragon, knowing that they could not be closer than friends.

"Just thinking Arya."

"What about?" She asked.

"About what to do know," he answered truthfully, "I don't have any objective or mission to do. I'm free yet have nothing to use this new found freedom on." And so he told her about everything except his feelings for her.

"Eragon, you will find something to do eventually. You just did a huge thing, you need some time to relax."

He thought about that for a while, not noticing the silence growing.

"Do you really have nothing? You have your friends, your dragon, you have everything, you just need to realize it."

"Really? What friends I have will go back to their homes, sure I will have Saphira, but we will need company of some sort. We don't even have a place to live."

"That's not true. You can come live in your tree house in Ellesmera. Then you will have all the company you want. Besides, our dragon's don't want to be far apart, so we should live near each other."

"I suppose your right, Arya."

"Aren't I always?" she asks, bringing a small smile to Eragon's lips.

_Just like Saphira. _

"Besides, you don't have to live alo-," she cut herself off. She made to get up but Eragon gently grabbed her arm.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you can bring anyone you want with you," Arya told him. He was not convinced.

"Please, tell the truth," he begged her.

"I was thinking…maybe we could live together," she said nervously.

Eragon was stunned, to say the least. She wanted to live with him? Did that mean she wanted more? _No _Eragon thought, _friends can live together. _He came up with a way to check without asking her.

"I thought you would live in Tiarda Hall?"

"That's only for royalty, those in line for the throne. I have no wish to be Queen. I told my mother this and I am not allowed my room anymore."

"What? That's awful, your own mother kicked you out?" she gave him a sad nod. "In that case, I'd be glad to let you live with me.

She started smiling, something Eragon thought she should do more often, then gave him a big hug, also something he thought she should do more often.

**So that's the first chapter. Please take 2 seconds to review, and maybe a few ideas hear and there would be wonderful. **


	2. Chapter 2

Eragon sat in a chair in his tree house, waiting for Arya to show up. Eventually there was a knock on the door. Opening it, Eragon saw Arya standing there with a few bags in her hands.

"At least she let you get some of your stuff," he said to her.

"I'm just happy to be out of there," she responded, walking past him. "Oh.."

"What?"

"I forgot there was only one bed."

This made Eragon's face turn red. He hoped she couldn't tell, after all, she was facing the other way. But she always seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. Thinking quickly, he told her, "That's ok, I can sleep with Saphira, at least until we can get another bed."

"Eragon, you deserve to be able to sleep in a bed. I can sleep on the floor."

"I have no problem with sleeping under Saphira's wing."

"Eragon…look, it's a big bed, we can both sleep in it. Just don't get any ideas." She said the last part with such seriousness that Eragon almost didn't want to take the chance…almost.

That settled Eragon decided to help Arya get situated. They each got half of the dresser to put clothes, something Arya didn't want Eragon to help with, so he just sat in a chair and waited for her to finish.

Once that was done there wasn't really much else to do. They decided to spend the day looking for another bed. After spending a few hours looking around Ellesmera, those few hours were wasted. They returned to the house as the sun was setting, both of them tired.

"So…which side of the bed do you want?" Eragon asked her.

"It doesn't matter," Arya responded, too tired to care. They each took there own side and quickly fell asleep.

Eragon woke up, replenished. The sun was shinning through the window, Saphire was looking through it at him with an amused expression on her face.

_What?_

_Look at yourself._

Eragon looked down to find that Arya was curled up next to him, laying on his shoulder. He went red again, this time thankful that she was asleep.

_This isn't funny._

_If you had been looking at it all night you would think so._

_What do you mean?_

_I'll show you. _Suddenly Saphira's memories flooded into Eragon's mind. It showed that as they were sleeping Arya slowly started to inch toward Eragon's sleeping form, eventually ending up in the position they were in at the moment.

As the memory ended Eragon opened his eyes, only to see that Arya was waking up. He stared down at her in horror, not knowing what her reaction would be, probably something like a slap to the face.

She opened her eyes slowly, raising herself up off him. She looked up at him and froze. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever.

"Eragon… can we please pretend this never happened?"

Eragon was too stunned to respond. It didn't expect her to act so calmly. Arya raised herself completely off him and got out of bed as if nothing had happened.

"So, what do you want to do today? It's obvious there are no good beds around here, so I guess we'll have to come up with something as far as where to sleep."

"Umm…," Eragon was trying to think but his head was still reeling from finding Arya cuddling up to him.

"Never mind, we can just spend the day here I guess, unless you had something to do?"

"No, I'm fine with staying here," he finally managed to spit out.

"Alright, in that case I suppose we can try and talk about this," she said in a serious voice. Before she could begin Eragon interjected, "Arya, I know nothing was ment, it wasn't your fault. We were both just moving around in our sleep and we ended up in that position."

"So it will never happen again?" she asked him.

"No," he concluded. He could have sworn that he saw her face sadden at that, but she turned away. After getting some spare clothes she walked to the door.

"I'm going to go bathe, it won't take long." With that she left.

_Well, that was surprising. _Saphira spoke in Eragon's mind.

_Why was she so calm? _Eragon would rather her have slapped him.

After awhile she returned, hair still wet. By now Eragon had gotten his own clothes on and was sitting down talking with Saphira. She sat down in a chair across from him. "I just heard, the elves are holding a celebration in honor of you killing the king."

Eragon was in a better mood now than during the first celebration so he was actually looking forward to this one. "Great, will there be anything I will have to do?"

"No, just show up. It'll be tonight, so you might want to get something to wear."

"What about you?"

"I brought some things from my old room."

Eragon already had good clothes, so he didn't actually have to do anything today. So they just sat there and talked. Eventually the time came to start getting ready.

Eragon put on a saphire colored tunic with a black vest and matching pants. Arya had left early and said she was going to change at the celebration.

_Come, it is time to leave. _Saphira informed him. He hopped onto her back and they took off.

_What do you think will happen at this celebration? _Eragon asked his dragon.

_Well, they're obviously going to call us up to say a speech or two. Of course there will be dancing and music, other than that I don't know. _

Saphira started to slow down and decend, they had arrived.

**Two chapters in one day, I'm so proud of myself. Well please review, and any story ideas would be welcome. If I use any then I will thank you for it.**


	3. Chapter 3

Eragon and Saphira landed right in the middle of the celebration. After jumping off of Saphira Eragon looked around, only to find himself surrounded by drunk elves. _The party just started, why are they all drunk already? _Eragon asked the partner of his heart.

_Maybe we should ask _was Saphira's only reply. So Eragon walked throughout the entire party, looking for an elf whom wasn't drunk. After about ten minutes of searching he finally found one. Walking up behind the one person who wasn't swaying from side to side, and turned her around.

Eragon was instantly breathless, looking at her. "Arya?"

"Yes," she said turning around. She was wearing an emerald dress that went down to her feet, laced with gold thread at the borders. The dress perfectly matched both her eyes and her dragon. She looked so beautiful that Eragon found it hard to breath. Her hair fell freely from the top of her head all the way down to the small of her back.

Finally finding the oxygen needed, Eragon replied, "Arya, I did not know it was you, where is Eridor?" He was glad he could think of something to say, he didn't want "why are all the elves so drunk" to be the first words he said to her.

"He is over talking to Saphira, ever since becoming mates he hasn't wanted to leave her side for a second," she responded. "Why do you ask? Do you need him for something?"

"No, no, I was merely wondering. How do you like the celebration?"

"Oh, its wonderful, apart from the fact that all the elves are drunk."

"Actually I was meaning to ask you about that, I don't see how everyone can be drunk this early in the celebration."

"Oh, well they were all drunk before they got here," she said as if it was he simplest thing in the world. "They were celebrating at home and then came here." That made Eragon feel better, at first he thought that all the elves didn't want to be there so they drank.

_That's just what your paranoid mind was telling you _Saphira told him.

"So," Eragon said, ignoring Saphira's comment, "What all is planned for tonight?"

"Well I'm not exactly sure. The Queen will probably call you up to do something, maybe a speech, other than that I'm not sure," she said, with a slightly sad look on her face. Eragon was puzzled at this. Why would she seem so sad? It was as if she was sad that she wasn't able to tell him what he wanted to know.

"Oh, great, I get to give a speech," he said sarcastically.

"Well, you could always hide, and if you don't come up when they call you then they will assume that you are at the house," she proposed. This shocked Eragon, since when is Arya ok with him skipping out on something like this? She was acting more and more weird each day.

Choosing to point this out, Eragon said, "Arya, are you ok? You've been acting weird lately."

She looked at him with a quizzical look, "Weird how?" she asked.

Not wanting to bring up this morning in front of all the elves round them, even though they were drunk, he grabbed her hand and walked them through to the other side of the party, into the forest and kept walking. Eventually letting go of her hand, he started walking more slowly, intending to talk while walking.

"I mean like this morning, you acted so calmly when you woke up next to me like that, and now you suggest that I skip out on the speech I'm going to have to give. What's going on with you?" By now they were walking side by side, not to anywhere particular.

It was a while before she answered, so long in fact that Eragon thought she wouldn't, but then she said, "I just don't want to get into ant fights, with us living together it wouldn't be very good if we were arguing would it?"

It was a rhetorical question, and Eragon knew that, but he answered anyway, "Arya, people are bound to get into arguments at some point, and besides, we both know that reason is a lie."

Arya stopped at this, looking down to her feet. Eragon stopped too, looking back at her. He wished he hadn't said that, she probably didn't want to talk about it. Eventually she bagan to walk forward again, not saying anything. They came to a clearing just as the trees were starting to get too thick to walk through. They stopped to look at the stars, so beautiful.

"Arya, if you don't want to tell me you don't have to. I was just-," Eragon began, but she cut him off.

"How do you feel about me?"

Eragon was taken aback by this question, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean do you still feel the same way you did back at the Blood Oath celebration? When you stood in the very spot your standing in now, and told me you would do anything for me? Eragon…do you still love me?"

This is exactly where Eragon didn't want to be. He knew that if he told her the truth their friendship would be gone, so he told her, "No."

"Say it in the Ancient Language."

He couldn't believe it, she was backing him into a corner, forcing him to tell her the truth. He tried to tell her no, but the Ancient Language wouldn't let him. Eventually he was forced to say, "Even more now than then."

He stood there, looking at his feet, knowing that it was all over. After what seemed like an eternity he looked up, only to find that she had gone. The love of his life had rejected him again.

**I changed the ending cause I figured I could go a little farther with them. NonStickMage had a point, it was a little sudden.**


	4. Chapter 4

**For those of you who might not know, I changed the ending of my last chapter, so you might want to read that before this chapter.**

Eragon slowly walked back to his tree house, ignoring the looks from the elves.

_Don't be so sad, little one, all is not lost. _Saphira tried to cheer him up, but to no anvil.

After reaching his home he found that Arya was sitting on the bed, crying. He wanted more than anything to comfort her, but he knew that would only make things worse.

She had not seen him yet, so he figured he could slip out befoe she noticed him. He slowly started to shut the door, but it gave a slight squeak, giving him away.

Arya twirled around, hearing the noise, and caught his eyes. Eragon stared into her eyes, not able to look away. They were slightly puffy and red, a sight that made Eragon, too, want to cry.

They both stood still for what seemed like an eternity, until she eventually said, "Please, Eragon, come sit," she patted a part of the bed beside, gesturing him to sit next to her.

Seeing it as a chance to possibly explain things and repair there injured friendship, he sat down. "Arya, I'm sorry for putting you in this position-"

He was cut off by Arya, "You don't have to apologize, Eragon, you did nothing wrong. I forced you to say it, and that was wrong of me. I should be apologizing to you."

They were silent for a while, until Arya asked, "Why do you love me?"

This caught Eragon off guard. She was just saying that it was a wrong thing to do, yet hear she sat, asking him more.

"Arya-"

"Eragon, please, just answer the question."

He wanted to tell her everything right at that moment, yet he could not find the right word to say it. It was difficult explaining why you were in love with someone. Why did one love at all?

There was a long silence while Eragon collected his thoughts, finally saying, "Arya, there are a million reasons why I love you, yet it is hard bringing them to words. I suppose the best I can do is tell you that because of all those reasons, I can't live without you. You are the one thing keeping me alive, you are the one who convinced me to come hear. Please Arya, why do you run?"

Another long silence, both of them staring into the others eyes.

"I don't know," she finally said. "I wanted to know whether you still loved me or not…and when you told me how much you loved me I just didn't know what to do…So I ran, hoping to think, and that's what I've been doing."

Eragon's head filled with questions, but he only asked one, "Why did you want to know?"

Silence, stillness, and finally, "I just wanted to know if…" Arya's body started to shake with what could only be sobs, trying to get out the rest of her sentence. "If you returned the feelings I've somehow grown…for you," she finally completed her thought.

Eragon lost all breath then, _Returned her feelings? She actually loves me? _More and more questions filled his brain. When had these feelings grown? What did this mean for them now?

He could only bring himself to ask the obvious, "Do you really love me?"

Arya looked down, "I guess I know how you felt at the Bloood Oath ceremony, after all my rejections you must not want to take me."

"No," Eragon said, putting is hand on her cheek, making her look up at him. "I don't want you to ever feel that way, I don't want you to be pained."

"So…you _will _take me?"

"The question is, will _you _take _me_?"

Her pretty face lightened up, becoming even more beautiful, a smile starting to spread across her face. Neither of them noticed that they both slowly started to lean into each other until their lips brushed each other's so lightly, they weren't sure it happened at all. Surprisingly, Arya was the one who chose to close the distance between them.

Their lips touched and they both melted into each other's arms. They held that position for what must have been hours, until there heard a little voice in their minds.

_Well it's about damn time._

They split apart and looked aver at the window, where both Saphira and Arya's dragon, Eridor, where looking through at them, amused looks on their faces. Both Eragon and Arya blushed so much, either one of them could have been Thorn.

_Saphira and I are going to sleep now, don't have too much fun _They heard Eridor's deep voice echo through there heads. His words just made them blush even more.

**Sorry, I know this chapter was short, but I didn't know exactly what to say next. At least we finally heard Eridor talk! Don't worry though, he will appear again. That is of course, if you review.**


	5. Chapter 5

Eragon woke up feeling happier than he'd ever been. Arya had finally told him that she loved him. There was a slight stirring next to him. _Speak of the devil._

He watched as Arya slowly opened her eyes. She looked up from her perch on Eragon's shoulder, her eyes showing a long awaited joy. She raised up, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and got out of bed.

"What would you like to do today?" Eragon thought about this for a while. He wasn't planning on anything, he didn't really have much to do at all.

"Well, we could always just stay here and do whatever," he finally suggested. That's when Arya's voice took on a dark tone.

"Actually, we need to go one place today…my mother's."

Eragon shot up, "Why?"

"Because, we need to tell her about us. If we try keeping this a secret then it will get out eventually, and I'd rather tell her myself." Eragon's face took on a saddened look. Arya walked over to him and tilted his head up to look at her. "It's ok. Even if she doesn't agree we will still be together. I don't care what she thinks about us."

"But, if she disagrees with it, won't the other elves follow her opinion?"

"If that happens we can always leave," she said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Ok, but there is one thing I need to know first."

Arya looked confused, "What's that?" she asked.

It was a while before Eragon answered, trying to sum up the courage to ask her. "Are we mates?"

Arya smiled at him, "Would you like to be?" she asked, already knowing exactly what he would say.

"If you would like to be…I wouldn't mind, but if you don't want to be, that's ok too."

Arya pretended to think about this for a while, enjoying the stressed look on Eragon's face. So hopeful, yet so afraid that she might say no. Eventually Arya relieved his trouble by saying, "Yes, I suppose we are," then kissed him.

Eragon's face instantly brightened, making Arya's smile grow. "Now," she said, "when would you like to get the trouble out of the way so we can return?"

Eragon knew that she really ment that she wanted to go now, otherwise she wouldn't have mentioned it again. So he stated, "We can leave as soon as we get some clean clothes on."

They stood in front of the Queen's throne, the only one's in the room other than Islanzadi herself. At Eragon and Arya's request she made everyone else leave.

"So," she said, her voice agitated, "what are you two doing here?"

Neither one of them spoke at first, they didn't know what to say. Eventually Eragon spoke up, "Well, Queen Islanzadi, we came here to tell you that-," he was cut off by Arya.

"We have decided to become mates," Arya said, rather straight-forward.

The queen sat on her throne, unmoving. Time seemed to stand still, as Eragon and Arya waited for the sure disagreement of their relationship.

"Ah," Islanzadi said, her tone quickly changing to one of…happiness? "I was wondering when you two would do this. I have been waiting a long time to hear you say that."

This was not what they were expecting, this was a whole new Islanzadi sitting before them. She stood up and walked over to them. "Now that you two have become mates, I can finally expect a grand-child."

This statement nearly caused Eragon to faint. The man who killed a shade, escaped a prison, and killed a king, was completely undone by the idea of kids. He looked over at Arya, who looked like he felt.

"I could not ask for a better father for my grandchildren."

Eragon and Arya both just stood there, dumbfounded at both the queen's reaction, and her expectations. Finally Arya said, "We actually haven't talked about that yet, mother."

"Oh? I'm sorry, I thought you had. In that case, I will give you some time. As for me, I must be leaving, I have an announcement to make." Islanzadi then walked past them and out of the room.

"Eragon? We need to talk at the house," Arya said before grabbing his hand and pulling him after her.

Eragon and Arya sat on the bed, both glad the conversation was over. After a long talk they had decided not to have kids for a while. They wanted to first get ready. They looked forward to spending time with each other alone.

At first Eragon didn't know why they were even talking about it. "Isn't it out of our control whether you get pregnant?" he had said, but then Arya revealed to him that elves could control that sort of stuff. So elves wouldn't get pregnant unless they wanted to.

That cleared up, they decided to spend the rest of the day just talking, not that they had a chance to considering every 30 seconds an elf would come knocking at the door to tell them congratulations. Even when they had a little time to talk Saphira or Eridor would comment on how amusing it was to see their reactions at the whole child incident.

With all that, by the end of the day they were exhausted. They both climbed into bed, curling around each other.

"Well, today went better than I thought it would," Eragon commented as they were about to fall asleep.

"Yes, it is nice know that my mother approves of our relationship." With that in mind they both drifted off to sleep.

**I know, not very eventful, but I'm tired so this is the best I can do for today. Please review, any ideas would be nice. I will thank anyone in the next chapter for ideas. **


	6. Chapter 6

There was a knock at the door, waking up Eragon. There were always some people who waited a while before congratulating people, so Eragon fixed up a spell that would wake him up, without waking up Arya too, if there was a knock at the door.

He got out of bed, careful not to wake up his beloved, and shuffled on to the door. He stretched for a second, then opened it, expecting to see another random elf. When he opened it, however, a familiar man stood in the doorway, a big smile on his face, holding hands with his wife.

"So you finally got her to take you?" he said quietly, noticing she was asleep.

Eragon was shocked to find him in Du Weldenvarden. "Roran? Katrina? What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, we wanted to personally congratulate you on finding a mate," Katrina informed him.

"You came all the way here just to say congrats?"

There was a long pause, in which Roran and Katrina both looked at each other, then back at Eragon. "Yep," they said simultaneously.

"Well, that's nice of you. I would allow you to stay here for a while, but we only have one bed."

At this Roran gave Eragon a mischievous smile, which made Eragon blush once he figured out what Roran was implying.

"That's ok, we have the means to travel back easily," Katrina said, looking at Roran.

"Yeah, Vanilor said he wanted to do the same, so we all came."

Right as they said this Eragon heard a low growl outside the window. Eragon turned and walked over to the window, looking out.

There he saw Eridor and the light brown dragon known as Vanilor staring at each other, about to pounce. Eragon thought there was going to be a fight, but then Saphira walked between them.

_Now, now, Vanilor, don't cause problems. You either Eridor. I know you two might have gotten in a small fight last time, but everything is alright now. _

Eragon remembered the last time Eridor and Vanilor were together. Vanilor accidentally stepped on Eridor's tail and they got into a huge fight.

Luckily, Saphira was able to calm them down this time.

"Sorry about that, I forgot about their little fight," Roran told him.

"Don't worry about it, no harm done."

"We were hoping to congratulate both mates, oh well," Katrina said.

"Not to be rude, but it is hours before dawn," Eragon pointed out.

"Oh, yeah, we planned to get here later, but it seems we made good time."

"It's fine, I'll be sure to tell Arya you two stopped by."

"Ok, it was ice seeing you two again, bye."

"Bye."

So Roran and Katrina left, Vanilor going with his Rider.

That's when Eragon heard Arya's voice, "I wish you would have woken me up. I would have liked to talk with them."

"When did you wake up?" Eragon asked, turning to her.

She sat up in the bed, "Eridor's growl woke me up. I didn't want them to see me get out of bed, it would be rude."

Eragon suppressed the need to roll his eyes at that. "So, would you like to go back to sleep, I won't wake you?"

"What about you?"

"I can't go back to sleep once I've waken up, it's just one of those things."

"Really? Me too. So what would you like to do until dawn?"

"I'm not sure, any ideas?" he said, walking up to her.

"Maybe a few," she responded, grabbing him and pulling him onto the bed.

**I know, another short chapter, but I spent most of the day after school getting ready for a birthday party. Anyway, sorry about the chapter, at least now you know who one of the other Riders is, though. As always, please review blah, blah, blah, ideas are welcome blah, blah, blah.**


	7. Chapter 7

_Dawn came, waking Eragon and Arya out of their…business. They decided to just lay there for a while, enjoying each other's company. They talked for awhile, at first simple small talk, then about personal things._

_Arya had asked Eragon about his life before he saved her from Gil,ead, noticing that she had never asked beforehand. So Eragon told her everything he could. He spoke of farming, going to Carvahall for supplies, even finding Saphira's egg. His face took on an ashamed look when he told her how he was going to sell her egg, thinking it was just a stone. At this Arya laughed, a real laugh, Eragon noticed. It made him smile too, tearing down the ashamed face and putting up one of happiness. _

_He continued telling her everything that happened, Saphira putting in the parts he either wasn't there for, or couldn't remember. He told his story up to the point were he first met her conscious self on the training fields in Farthen Dur. _

_Right as he finished telling her all of this information, there was a knock on the door. Arya decided that she would be the one to answer it, not wanting to miss another guest than could be important. _

_She opened the door to find a messenger, slightly tired. He must have been running all day, I wonder what has happened. _she thought.

Still panting a little, the elf spoke, "Islandzadi announced a party to celebrate the occasion of her daughter gaining a mate. The celebration will be held tonight."

Arya was surprised to hear this. _We spent all day yesterday answering the door to congratulations, now there will be a party? _Coming out of her thoughts, she responded, "Thank you, you may return to business." She then closed the door, not in a rude way, though. 

It was noon now, so they still had a couple hours till they had to start getting ready. Arya turned to find Eragon right behind her, looking down at her.

"Well, this is interesting news. Another party, I hope the elves won't be drunk this time."

"Don't worry," Arya said, looking up at him, "The princess getting a mate isn't as big as a century old war ending."

Eragon gave her a disbelieving look. Wanting to change the subject, she kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. This certainly had the desired affect. He Immediately forgot about what they were talking about. 

They spent the next few hours doing whatever they wanted in the house **(No they aren't doing THAT, actually they didn't do that earlier either, I was just teasing you guys)**. Eventually the time came to get ready for the celebration. 

"So, what do you think I should wear?" Arya asked.

"The dress that you wore to the party the other day looked beautiful on you," Eragon suggested. 

Arya thought about it, but then told him, "No, I want to wear something new, but something that's formal too."

Eragon could only think, _uh…women._

"Hey! I heard that!," Arya yelled at him. He quickly took it back, saying that he was just kidding, to which Arya just glared at him. 

Eragon already had his clothes on, a black tunic with a sapphire colored vest and pants. Basically, the same thing he wore to the other celebration, but the colors reversed. 

There was a few minutes of silence, then she came into view. She was wearing a glittering sapphire dress, to match his colors, but this was different from the other dress in a other way too. This hugged her body to emphasize certain places. 

Eragon's jaw hanged from his skull, making him look like an idiot. He was too busy keeping himself from drooling to wonder what his jaw was doing. She was both beautiful and sexy at the same time. 

She smiled at his expression, making her look even better. "Come on, Eragon, we are going to be late for our own party," she said as if it was his fault, yet still in a playful tone. So, Eragon still staring at her, they both walked over to the party. 

They came to a clearing filled with tables and chairs. The queen sat at a long horizontal table at the other side of the clearing. Saphira and Eridor were already there, gladly accepting the elves' praise. It appeared everyone in Ellesmera was there, waiting for them. So, not wanting to make them wait any longer, Eragon and Arya took seats designated for them, which happened to be next to the queen. 

The queen stood up, implying that she wanted to say something to the crowd of elves. They all sat down in chairs surrounding the tables in the clearing. "Thank you all for coming," Islanzadi started, "We have gathered here to celebrate my daughter gaining a mate." At this all the elves cheered. "Arya Drottningu has chosen Eragon Kingslayer, son of Brom, to be her mate," at this the queen turned to Eragon and Arya, "I believe I speak for all the elves when I say, we are so proud that you, Arya have chosen a man like Eragon. A man with great courage, strength, and determination. They make a perfect queen and king to take my place!"

Eragon and Arya looked at each other, both wondering what she was talking about. She had disowned Arya, why would she suddenly take her back? Just because she had found a mate? Because that mate was Eragon? A million questions popped into his head, but Arya was giving him a look that said "just play along," so he did. 

Islanzadi continued to talk, but Eragon didn't hear any of it. _I'm going to be king of the elves? I don't want to be though. _

He felt himself being pulled up, out of his seat. He came out of his thoughts to find himself standing up, next to Arya, who was probably the one to pick him out of his seat. 

They faced the crowd, not sure what to say, but then Arya started speaking, "We both are so glad that everyone else approves, you all are so kind to accept Eragon and I as mates."

After she was done talking they heard various elves yelling, "Kiss!"

"Yeah, you two should kiss!"

They all started chanting "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" 

Eragon and Arya had no problem kissing before, but this time it was in front of all the elves in Ellesmera. They looked at each other, silent agreement passing between them, and they leaned into each other. 

Getting carried away, they both wrapped their arms around each other, making the kiss as passionate as possible. By the time they were done, all the elves were just staring at them in silence. Saphira and Eridor were chuckling in the back of the crowd. 

Eventually there was a female elf that gave out a loud, "Awww, that's so cute," at that everyone started cheering again. Eragon and Arya sat back down, giving everyone a chance to talk with each other. 

The queen eventually made them stand up, for what they did not know, and walk into the middle of the crowd. A large circle cleared around them so that Eragon and Arya were standing in the middle of it. Suddenly music started to play. They looked at each other, knowing what everyone wanted. 

Eragon put his hand on Arya's waist and grabbed her hand with his other. She put her free hand on his shoulder and they started to dance to the slow music. After what seemed like an eternity, the music started to speed up, making them speed up the dance too. They changed positions to match the faster music. They twirled and spun around the circle, clearly having the time of their lives. 

They were both lost in a sea of music and happiness. The elves around them seemed to disappear and the only thing they noticed was each other.

When the song eventually ended, they both came out of their reverie to find all the elves silent again, astonished. 

Eragon and Arya sat back down, letting the others dance. They sat there for the rest of the party, enjoying each other's company, every now and then talking to an elf or two. 

As the celebration ended, the elves started to leave to go back to there homes. It must have been past midnight, all the elves were tired, only a few drunk. They waited for everyone else to leave, including Islanzadi, then got up.

Eragon made a motion to leave, but Arya took his hand, stopping him. He looked back at her, giving her a quizzical look. "May I show you something?" she asked.

"Of course," Eragon told her. She led him through the forest, not telling him where they were going. 

After what seemed like a century, they came to a waterfall. "Arya, it's beautiful," Eragon said. 

"Thanks. Sit down with me."

Eragon sat at the edge of the flowing water with her. "Thank you for showing me this, it wonderful."

"I didn't bring you here to show you this," she said, "I brought you here so we could be alone, I just thought this would be a good place to stop."

"Why do you want to make sure we are alone?" Eragon looked at her, confused.

"Eragon, I never told you this, but there's always a small celebration whenever two elves decide to become mates, our's was just bigger than normal. Anyway," she continued, now having a look in her eyes that Eragon had never seen before. "After the celebration is supposed to be…well, when the two mates are to…_mate_."

Now Eragon knew what that look in her eyes was: lust. 

**Hope you guys like it, it's the longest chapter so far, so I hope it satisfies you. Anyway, Thank you Tsukune08 for the idea to have a celebration in their honor. Reviews are always nice, I always take them into account, ideas, as you can see are used if I can use them. ****J**


	8. Chapter 8

Five Hours Later…

Eragon and Arya lied together in a small cave, more of an indention, behind the waterfall. "Do you want to sleep here, or go back?" Eragon asked her.

"I'm too tired to go back, lets sleep here."

Arya woke up, finding herself laying against Eragon, who was looking down at her. A smile spread across her face, last night's memories coming back to her. After lifted herself up, she stretched and walked out through the waterfall to bathe.

Eragon got an idea in his head. Turning himself invisible with a spell, he slowly lowered himself into the water, making sure not to let her notice. He started swimming toward her…

Arya just finished bathing, but then she heard a little splash of water. She twirled around, seeing if it was a an intruder or Eragon. Seeing no one there, and sensing not a soul, she turned back around.

Right in front of her, not three inches from her face, were two brown eyes. She let out a small scream, jumping back under the water. Then she remembered the small blue rings at the edges of the eyes. _Eragon. _

She raised herself out of the water, "Eragon, you nearly scared me to death!" she exclaimed.

Eragon just laughed his head off, "Come on, just having some fun."

Arya glared at him for second, then started to laugh herself.

_There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you. _They both heard a deep voice in their head.

_Eridor, I told you where we were going didn't I?_

_No_

_Oh, sorry, must have forgotten…_

_Or you were too excited about the "after party"_, he kept the last part just between him and Arya.

She blushed, but luckily for her Eragon didn't notice. "So, are you ready to go?" she asked.

Eragon responded, "I'd get some clothes on if I were you."

Arya then remembered she was naked the entire time and blushed even more.

Eragon walked into Tialdari Hall, Arya next to him. Islanzadi looked at them, a small smile on her face. Eragon noticed the faraway look in her eyes, memories possibly playing in her mind, of Evandar most likely. "Yes?" she asked, "What is it that you two would like to talk to me about?" She seemed so much more happier since they told her of him and Arya becoming mates.

"We came here to tell you we are going to go down visit some friends of ours,"

"So? Why do you feel like you have to tell me?"

"Well, we are leaving Ellesmera, so we thought we should tell you," Arya answered.

"Oh, please, you two are Dragon Riders, you don't need to tell me."

_Damn, big change_, Eragon thought. Before all of what happened she thought of him as a child, now she acts like he's someone who can do anything.

"In that case, I guess we will be going. Just thought you should know that we were leaving," Eragon said, then left with Arya.

Eragon loved flying on Saphira, and he loved it even more when Arya was flying Eridor next to them.

It was nice being able to fly Saphira a long distance again, he hadn't done it since the day he slew Galbatorix. He looked over to Arya and Eridor, seeing them so at-peace with each other. Eragon then thought of his other friends.

Roran, his own cousin who had been like a brother to him, a fellow Dragon Rider. He and Vanilor got together so well, _They're practically the same person_ Eragon thought. He remembered the day the brown egg hatched for his cousin. The shock on his face, the sadness at being immortal, and so, outliving his wife, Katrina.

Eragon's thoughts drifted to her. Katrina, too, had held a slight sadness in her eyes for the fact he could outlive her forever. That sadness didn't last however, Eragon thought about the day after that.

_He sat, talking to Roran about the history of the Riders, teaching him as much as he could in the short amount of time they had until the final battle would begin. _

"_So, what are you going to do with the blue egg?" Roran asked after Eragon finished telling him about the Fall of the Riders._

"_I don't know," Eragon responded, taking it out of the bag he always kept at his side. Just then Katrina walked into the tent, carrying her baby boy in her arms._

_She then laid eyes on the blue egg. "How beautiful, how many eggs did you say Sahhira birthed?" Apparently she wanted to say "birth" as many times as she could nowadays. _

"_Three," Eragon told her, careful not to talk too loud._

_She held out a hand to touch it. Eragon thought _What are the odds it would hatch for her? Oh, well, what the hell. _He handed it to her._

_Suddenly, there was a loud _Crack!

Eragon was brought out of the memory by Saphira.

_We are there little one._

Eragon looked in the distance at the half rebuilt town of Carvahall, amazed that the builders could have gotten so far in such a short time.

Vanilor and Lenora lied behind the already rebuilt farm of Garrow's. Roran and Katrina came out of the house, looking up at them.

The two mates landed next to the married couple. "Hello cousin, how are you?"

"Wonderful, since you asked," Eragon answered.

"And how could I forget about my cousin's mate? How are you Arya?"

"Excellent, what of you?"

"Oh, well, we are doing fantastic," Katrina said.

"Yes, as I'm sure you've seen, Carvahall is almost finished," Roran stated.

"Fantastic news, may we come in?" Eragon asked.

Just then Eridor and Vanilor started growling at each other again.

_Can't you two just get along? _Lenora said, broadcasting her thoughts to everyone.

_Tell him to apologize _Eridor said.

_I have nothing to apologize for _Vanilor cut in.

_That's enough! _Saphira yelled at them both. _Eridor I'm sorry that Vanilor stepped on your tail, Vanilor, why can't you just say that your sorry? You both need to get a grip and stop arguing about stupid little things that shouldn't mean anything! _

"Wow," Roran commented.

…_Fine, I'm sorry _Vanilor said.

_Apology accepted, I'm sorry for overreacting _Eridor responded.

"So, is that the only reason you came? Or is there more?" Roran questioned.

"Actually, we came for a simple visit. We were just wondering how you all were doing," Arya said.

"Oh, well, please come in, have some tea," Katrina invited.

They all went inside, leaving the dragons to sort things out a bit more. When they got inside Arya said, "I'm sorry for sleeping through your visit, it doesn't seem right that you came all the way to Ellesmera to find me sleeping."

"It's ok, we are sorry we missed your celebration," Roran said.

After clearing all that up, they all sat down and drank tea, talking about what they'd done since the war ended.

Hours later Eragon and Arya got ready to leave. "We're sorry we can't stay longer, but we have to visit a few others," Eragon said, truly sad that they had to leave. Arya got on Eridor, readying to leave.

"We'll see you all some other time," Katrina said.

They took off after saying a few more good-byes.

"So, where are we going next?" Arya asked Eragon as they were flying.

"Farthen Dur, to see Orik."


	9. Chapter 9

Eragon and Arya were riding on their dragons above the mountain known as Farthen Dur. They flew into the dragon hold at the top, letting Saphira and Eridor rest their. They had flown all the way from Carvahall, only stopping for emergencies.

The Riders were tired too, but they figured they should at least tell Orik they were there first.

_Why are you tired? We did all the flying _Eridor said to them, indicating himself and Saphira.

Ignoring his comment, The two mates began walking down the endless staircase. After what seemed like hours, they made it to their destination: Orik's throne room.

Upon seeing his friends enter, Orik let out a loud cry of joy. "HA!, old friends, what might I ask this welcome visit is for?"

"Oh, just figured we should come and visit. How are you doing?" Eragon asked, a smile on his face from seeing his adopted brother.

"I'm the happiest I've ever been, thank you. With the war over all the dwarves have calmed down, and Shrrg and I are having a ball." Said dragon walked in at that moment, claws leaving scratch marks in the stone under his feet.

_Hello Arya Shadeslayer, and you Eragon Kingslayer. _The grey dragon said, sounding just as excited as Orik. _I suppose Saphira and Eridor are up in the dragon hold? _

"Yes, they are resting. It was a long trip," Arya said outloud.

_Ah, then we should visit them later. _

"I've got a better idea," Orik stated, "We should have a party."

Eragon and Arya just looked at each other. If they weren't so tired they would have laughed. _ANOTHER PARTY! _they both thought.

"Could it wait until tomorrow?" Eragon asked, almost pleading.

"Of course, that's what I meant. It will take some time to get together all the mead to satisfy three dragons."

Shrrg chuckled _Yes, especially if I'm one of those dragons._

"Orik, don't you think a party is a little extreme considering we're only visiting?" Eragon asked the dwarf king.

"Well, if it satisfies you, just think the party is for the two of you tying the knot."

"What?" Arya asked, unfamiliar with the expression, even after living amongst the humans for seventy years.

"Oh, yes that's right, elves don't marry," Orik chuckled, a sound oddly identical to his dragon. "I mean you two becoming mates."

"Ah, yes, well the thing is we have already had a celebration for that." Arya informed him.

"Oh…" Orik said, disappointment showing on his face, "well I wasn't there, so we are throwing another one."

Eragon and Arya finally made it up the staircase to find their dragons asleep. Not wanting to wake them the silently slipped into a bed and snuggled next to each other until falling asleep moments later.

_Eragon sat on a throne, looking down at an elf whom was informing him of what was going on outside of Ellesmera. _

"_Sir, the elves are rebelling. Soon they will be here and even you won't be able to stop them," the elf said. _

"_I can't be stopped," Eragon said. "I defeated Galbatorix and I will kill any elf who defies me."_

_Just then a young elvin child burst through the doors into the throne room. "Curse you!," he yelled. "How could you have killed them all!" _

_Angry at the interference, Eragon jumped down from his throne and grabbed the child by the neck, lifting her up to eye level. "I suppose I will have to make an example of you to show my intolerance of those who defy me," Eragon said._

_He unsheathed Brisingr, getting ready to strike._

Eragon bolted upright, drenched in sweat, breathing hard. He felt soft hands wrap around him.

"Eragon, what's wrong?" Arya asked, the concern in her voice not hiddin in the slightest.

"Nothing," he said, still panting, "Just a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked him.

He looked down at her, she was still lying down, her arms outstretched to his shoulders. The look in her eyes told of true concern and fear.

Not being able to hide anything from her, he showed her the memory of his dream, after which, she was speechless.

"I don't want to become another Galbatorix," he told her, his voice cracking.

"Eragon, you won't. You're better than him, you won't be evil or taken over with grief like he was." She leaned up and kissed him, trying to take his mind off of his dream.

He lied back down, wrapping his arms around her and burrowing his head into the crook of her neck.

"It's ok," he heard her whisper, "Everything will turn out perfectly."

Eventually he fell asleep again, his head still in the crook of her neck. He had no more dreams that night, only darkness.

The next morning he awoke to find himself still holding Arya in his arms as tightly as he could, but now her head was resting on his chest. He lightened up on his embrace, on for her to hug him even tighter.

She looked up, already awake. "Are you feeling better?" she asked him.

"Yes, much better, thank you."

She got out of bed, only to dive back under the covers as there was a knock at the door. A dwarf walked in, seeming to ignore the fact that there where two naked people in bed together in front of him, or maybe he was too short to see it.

"The party starts in one hour," he notified and left without another word.

So the two Riders spent the next hour getting ready for a day of watching dwarves drink ale while their dragons would probably join in, making the drunk effects happen to them too. They made it down the stairs just in time for the celebration to start.

It was said that the party was for Eragon and Arya, yet they didn't really do much other than talk to each other the entire day. All three dragons got drunk, but luckily the Riders, other than Orik, severed the connection so that they wouldn't too get drunk.

Later on, Saphira tried to bow again, resurrecting memories from the first time they were in Farthen Dur. This time Eragon laughed even harder because Eridor and Shrrg tried to help her up, only to slip and fall on their bellies. This got all of Farthen Dur rolling on the floor laughing.

While everyone was laughing, Eragon noticed Orik over in a corner alone, sitting at a table. After telling Arya that he'd be right back, he walked over to his dwarf friend.

"Hello Orik," he said, sitting down opposite of him.

"Ah, Eragon, how are you liking the celebration?" he asked.

"Oh, its nice, I must thank you. I never thought I'd see Saphira try to bow again."

This got Orik laughing. "Aye, me neither."

"So, how do you like being king Orik?" Eragon asked him.

"Well-"

"I mean the truth," Eragon cut him off.

Orik's face became serious. "If you must know, I hate it. Ruling over your people sounds good at first, but then when it happens it's a disappointment. I knew that there would be work, but it seems like no one can do anything for themselves."

"I see. Thank you Orik, it was nice to see you again." Eragon walked back towards Arya, sitting down next to her, his heart lower than ever.

The time eventually came to leave. It saddened everyone that they had to leave so soon, but Eragon, Arya and their dragons had to get back to Ellesmera.

"Good-bye Orik," Arya said, climbing on to her dragon.

"I will see another time friends," Orik said, rubbing his head, trying to get rid of his handover.

Saphira and Eridor took off, leaving Farthen Dur behind. They flew in comfortable silence for most of the day. They landed just before the grass turned to sand, just outside the Hadarac Desert. They all decided to camp there for the night.

**Sorry if it's been a little longer than normal, even during the weekend I was busy with an essay. Anyway, thanks to all the people who reviewed, I hope this is long enough for now.**


	10. Chapter 10

Eragon and Arya sat around a fire, the stars looking down at them. Eragon stared into the fire, unaware that Arya was staring at him. He was thinking about being king, and if he would change. _If I do change, will it be for the better or worse? _he thought.

Arya desperately wanted to start a conversation, but she couldn't think of anything to say. They both just sat there, silent, until Arya asked, "Did you know that wild dragons can end up choosing a rider?"

"I have heard of it being thought of, but never done…at least until Shrrg. Since it had never been done I thought it impossible, yet after hatching Shrrg took Orik as a rider. Weren't there enchantments or something to keep a dwarf from becoming a rider?"

"Well, they were kept out of the blood-pact, so a dragon couldn't choose a dwarf. Unless of course the dragon did what Shrrg did and chose a rider after he hatched," Arya answered his question, the question he asked every time this conversation came up.

Eragon was wandering why she brought up the topic again, they had discussed this before when Orik first became a Rider, why was she asking him now?

Arya scooted closer to Eragon, who didn't notice for he had gone back into his own mind to think. "Eragon, is the dream still bothering you?"

It was a while before he responded, "The dream is one of many pieces of a puzzle."

Going with the metaphor, Arya responded, "And what do those pieces fit together to say?"

Again there was a silence before he answered. "I…don't want to be king."

Arya was speechless, she knew that he was nervous about it, but not to the point where he didn't want to do it. She got herself together in order to say, "You won't be a tyrant, Eragon, I know you won't. You aren't the kind of person to be taken over by evil thoughts."

"Arya, its not just that…I just don't have the deire to be a king. Do you really have the desire to be queen?"

"…No."

"And if you could be a normal person would you be?"

"Well, to be honest…yes."

"Then why not be that. We can still be relatively normal. Lets run away from here, we can be happy anywhere we go."

This suggestion shocked Arya, "Do you really not want to be king so badly that you would suggest that?"

"Arya, if I have to be, than I will be a king, but all I really want is to be happy with you by my side, and I don't think that we can be happy if we're both being torn away from each other by the duties we could avoid."

Here he was, telling her everything he had been thinking about since leaving Farthen Dur, and yet he no matter how well he knew her, he couldn't tell what she thought about it.

"Eragon…I'm willing to go anywhere with you, but where will we go?"

It was a simple question, but it was difficult to answer. Where would they go?

After a while of thinking he said, "We can go to Vroengard."

"No, that would probably be the first place they'd look for us. They would send another Rider there to look," Arya quickly pointed out the flaw in his plan.

"I just need time to think about it."

"Eragon, it is late, and we can not think when we are tired. We can figure it out tomorrow. Besides, we have plenty of time, before we left I convinced Islanzadi to let us be free for a while, to enjoy being together."

"Really?"

"Aye, we have years to think about this, so for now, let us sleep and be happy," she finished and kissed him, pushing him to the ground and covering them both with a blanket.

He slept better that night, being comforted by the fact that they had years until he had t become king, and he and Arya could figure out a plan before then.

After waking up, they packed and took off to the east, in the direction of Uru'baen. They sat in a comfortable silence for most of the way here, every now and then talking to each other and their dragons about random things, such as riddles.

Finally arriving as the sun was setting, they walked in the castle previously owned by Galbatorix. Immediately two guards came running out on the roof of the tower they were landing on.

After telling the two guards who they were, they escorted them to a large hall, leaving Saphira and Eridor on the roof to rest. In the middle of the hall sat a large round table, at it sat Nasuada and Orrin, both of them talking to each other. Seeming to notice their visitors, they turned towards Eragon and Arya.

"Ah, Eragon, Arya, how are you two doing?" Nasuada asked.

"Good," they both said in unison.

"Why, may I ask, are you two here?" Orrin questioned.

"Oh, just visiting. We thought we should see how you are doing," Eragon answered.

"Well we are doing great, never better. Now, we should hold a-," Nasuada was cut off by Arya.

"Please, don't say celebration."

"What is wrong?" Orrin asked.

"Well, we have been to several celebrations in the past week. You could say we are tiring of them," Eragon informed him.

"Oh, well then we should let you rest. At least stay here for the night, We're sure you must be tired," Orrin said.

"We will be happy to," Arya said.

The two guards from earlier came and escorted them to their room, apparently he had already assumed that they were together. They settled under the covers and quickly fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

The two mates woke up, remembering where there were instantly. They decided to lay there until someone came to get them. Sure enough, eventually there was a knock on the door.

"Lady Nasuada requests that Eragon Kingslayer and Arya Shadeslayer meet her for breakfast," came the voice of a messenger.

Wordlessly, they got out of bed to get dressed.

Eragon and Arya sat at the large table they saw the night before, looking at King Orrin and Nasuada across from them.

"So, what have you two done since the war ended?" Nasuada asked. "I mean, other than becoming mates."

"How do you know that we are mates?" Arya asked.

"News travels fast, Islanzadi told me from scrying me. By now practically everyone knows."

Eragon and Arya looked at each other, both agreeing to talk to Islanzadi when they got back.

"Well," Eragon started, "I decided to live in Ellesmera, other than that there isn't much to tell. What have you two been doing?"

"Well, the council doesn't really have much to do. There are no problems to work out because everyone is getting along fine. We have decided that we would only meet if there was trouble."

Eragon just nodded, he knew that she was talking about the council of races. There would be two members of each race as representatives, all deciding what to do with race relations and other matters.

"Anyway, things aren't as exciting as they were during the war, but I actually like that."

"Yes, it is nice to relax," Orrin put in.

The food was put in front of them, no meat for Eragon and Arya. They sat there and talked some more about how things were going while they ate. Eventually the time came to leave though, making them all a bit disappointed.

"So long Eragon and Arya, it was nice to see you both again," Nasuada said as they got on to their dragons, whom were rested up again.

"It was good to see you again too," Eragon said.

They took off and made their way north.

_So how did you like your visit? _Eragon asked Saphira.

_It was ok, at least they brought us as much food_ _as we wanted._

_Yes, the lamb here is excellent, they even cooked it for us. _Eridor added.

They flew on through the day, having fun talking to each other openly. They landed when the sun fell below the horizon. Both of them getting down, they started a fire.

"Well, the visits might have been short, but they were nice," Arya stated.

"Aye, it was worth it," Eragon agreed.

They sat around the fire, their dragons resting across the fire, and thought about what to do next. They had visited everyone, and so they were going home, but what would they do there?

_We can do whatever we want, but what do we want to do? _Eridor said, not even moving.

"Well…I don't know," Eragon said.

"Does it really matter? We can just lay in bed if we wanted to, we don't HAVE TO do anything," Arya said.

_Laying down and doing nothing sounds nice to me _Saphira said.

"Well then, at the moment, we can do that," Eragon suggested.

Agreeing, they all lied down, curled next to each other, and fell asleep.

**If you can't tell, I have a bit of writer's block. I know how to end the story, I just need a couple ideas to get me there. Now please, GIVE ME IDEAS! Review blah, blah, blah… **


	12. Chapter 12

After waking, Eragon and Arya set out on Saphira and Eridor towards Du Weldenvarden. After a few hours of flying, they finally made it to Ellesmera. Tialdari Hall looked the same as it did when they left, as expected.

Queen Islanzadi sat on her throne, looking down at them. _I wonder what she does when no one's around _Eragon thought, _She mustn't sit there all day just waiting for people to come in. _

"Ah, your finally back. How was your trip?" the queen asked.

Before Eragon could answer Arya cut in, "Well, aside from the countless unwelcome parties AND not being able to be the ones to tell our friends of our relationship, it was good," she said sarcastically.

"Oh, yes, I really am sorry about that. But can you blame me_? _When you have a child that finally gets a mate you will want to tell everyone yourself." The mention of the two mates having kids always got Eragon toblush.

"That may be, but you should have at least told us that you informed our friends," Arya told her mother.

"Well I'm sorry that I upset you daughter, but what has happened has happened and there is nothing anyone can do to change that," Islanzadi said in an unnaturally sweet voice, puzzling Eragon to no end. He wasn't used to her being so nice.

"You have a point, we just wanted you to know how much it upset us," Eragon cut in, seeing that Arya was about to say something rash. He grabbed her hand and practically dragged her out of the hall towards the tree house.

When they finally got there she seemed to be as calm as ever. Confused, Eragon asked, "What's up with you? You didn't act that angry when we talked about it on the way over here."

"Actually, I'm not very mad at all, I just knew that you would get us out of there if it seemed like I was going to do something bad," she responded.

"Do you really not like being around your mother that much?"

"Yes, but that isn't the reason why I wanted to leave."

In response Eragon raised an eyebrow.

"Eragon," Arya said, looking deathly serious all of a sudden, "Do you still want to hide away to avoid becoming king?"

It took Eragon a few moments to recover from the shock of her bringing that topic up so suddenly. "Yes," he answered truthfully, his tone too becoming serious, "but only if you come with me, otherwise I will stay."

"I think I thought of a place we can go."

"Really? Where?"

"Alalea," Arya said, looking hopeful.

"The origin of the elves? You know where it is?"

"Of course, all elves know where it is, but it is kept a secret from other races. However, you have the right to know because you are mated to an elf, and you would otherwise become king of the elves."

"Can we really go there, though?"

"Of course," Arya said in a matter-of-fact way, "if we pack enough provisions and manage to find a ship."

Immediately a thousand questions popped into his head. _How far is it? How long will it take us to get there? When can we leave? _

_Calm down, little one _Saphira said in is mind.

Being able to think again he asked, "Are you absolutely sure you want to go?"

Arya smiled a small smile, "Of course, if it means us being together the way we both want to be, then I will go anywhere."

Knowing this was the truth reinforced Eragon's determination. "Well then, when would you like to start?" Eragon said boldly.

Smiling even bigger, Arya answered, "Well, we must go slow in order not to catch suspicion, luckily we still have a few years to get ready. We can slowly build up the provisions and money for a ship."

"Sounds like a decent plan to me."

**I'm sorry for the long wait, but my laptop messed up and I just got it back this morning. I wanted to leave you guys with something though, and here it is, you now know the full plot. YAY! **

**The new discretion: See the many challenges Eragon and Arya face as they make their way towards the freedom they desire. **

**Please review… **


	13. Chapter 13

Eragon sat at a table in a random bar in Teirm. Across from him sat a man that looked to be about thirty-five or so, and he had a big smile on his face.

"So," Eragon said, "are we agreed?"

The man sitting across the table let out a small laugh and responded, "Aye, we are. You bring the provisions, I bring the ship and the crew."

"Excellent," Eragon replied, standing up. "We shall meet you at the port in two weeks then."

"The crew and I shall meet you there, Kingslayer," the other man, also standing up, said.

"Well until then Jacob," Eragon concluded, shaking Jacob's hand. Eragon walked out of the bar, leaving a giddy captain behind him. He walked down the street, happy that Arya and his plan was coming together perfectly.

It might have taken two years but it would only be another two weeks until they could set off. Eragon couldn't wait to get home and tell his beloved, she would be so excited.

_Yes, she will be _Eragon heard a feminine voice say in his mind.

_Saphira, how was hunting? _Eragon asked, wanting to pass the time as he walked to his house.

_Delicious, as always _he heard her reply. _we already have enough supplies for a whole year out at sea, we don't really have to do anything until we set off._

_Actually, I think we should continue to stock up _Eragon stated, _you never know, me might need it for an emergency. _

_Agreed. _

_I still cant believe that Jacob is the only one here with a ship big enough to land two dragons on it, I mean we're in Teirm! A port city and yet there is still only one man with a large enough ship! _Eragon gave a mental sigh, _Well, we're lucky we found him, even more lucky that he agreed to come with us for such a small price._

_If you could say that one-thousand pieces of gold is small, _Saphira puffed.

_It is if your considering that we are buying a ship and crew with it. _

_True, true._

Eragon arrived at his home. He looked up at the two story house, plainly seeing Arya through the window. She was sitting at a table, looking down at a map of Alagaesia.

He walked in the front door, and in response, Arya got up and hugged him, laying a tiny kiss on his cheek.

"How did the meeting go?" she asked, still having the same melodic voice she did two years ago.

"Better than expected," Eragon answered. "We will meet Jacob in two weeks at the port to set sail."

"Great, but what about my mother? I can't just leave Alagaesia without telling her."

There was a long pause, in which they both thought for a solution to this predicament. Eragon knew she was right, it would be horrible to leave out of someone's life without even telling them, but why did this someone have to be the queen of the elves? The one person who had the power to stop them.

Then Eragon got an idea, deciding to voice it to Arya, "How about we scry her just before we leave and tell her that we will be going, that way she won't have the time to stop us."

"It would work, I suppose," Arya responded, looking down at her feet.

"Hey," Eragon said tenderly, raising her face up with his finger so she could look at him, "everything will be alright, I promise. We will make it to Alalea and live in peace there without having to worry about an evil king or queen."

Arya smiled up at him and kissed him, silently thanking him for his comfort.

Silence reigned as they both wanted to just stand there, embracing each other, but they were brought out of their reverie as a strong male voice sounded in their minds.

_If you two are done cuddling, I believe you should show Eragon our route _they heard Eridor say from outside.

Taking Eridor's suggestion, Arya drew Eragon's attention to the map he had seen her studying through the window.

The map showed all of Alagaesia and then ocean to the west stretching all the way off map. Arya pointed to Teirm on the map, "I figured that we should start by sailing to Sharktooth Island first, by the time we get there we will all want to rest on solid ground anyway.

"We will stay there for a night or two, depending on how our supplies are holding up, and then sail southwest," the entire time she was tracing our route with her finger, at this point she went off the map and settled and two inches off, on the table.

Eragon, doing the math in his head, figured that from the end of the map to where her finger rested was about a month of travel, then there was the rest of the route which would take about six months.

"And Alalea will be right about here, she finally said, seeing as Eragon was done doing the math in is head. "So it should take us about seven months of travel. We should have enough food for that already, but we can pick some up at Sharktooth Island if it looks like we won't at that point."

Eragon searched the map, trying to figure out if there were any flaws at all in the plan. He could find none, _As expected, Arya did perfectly._

Eragon was woken up the next morning by a knock at the door. _Who would be visiting us? _he thought. He got out of bed, followed by Arya.

"It's ok," he told her, "Go back to bed and if it is anything important I will wake you up."

Not expecting there to be anyone of importance at the door, Arya got back into bed, clearly awaiting his return.

Wanting to get back into bed, Eragon quickly walked through the house and to the door, opening it.

"Yes?" he asked.

As soon as the words left his mouth there was a sudden pain on the side of his head and he decended into blackness.

**I know it might not be as long as some of my other chapters, but I hope this satisfies you till next time I update. And so now I tell you the same thing as always: please review… **


	14. Chapter 14

**Eragon woke up to find himself tied down to a table. He tried to think up the words in the Ancient Language to free him, but he found himself forgetting what to say.**

_**They must've drugged me **_**Eragon thought, **_**the question is, WHO drugged me?**_

**Just then he heard a door out of his eyesight open and close. "Ah, you are awake," he heard a female voice say. "Finally, you can give me answers."**

"**I won't give you anything," Eragon said, still unable to see who he was talking to. **

"**Oh, but you will," the person said, standing above him so he could see her. **

**Eragon couldn't believe his eyes, she was one of the last people he expected to see here. **

"**Angela?" (Thank you, Obliterator1519 for the idea) **

"Yes, I see your eyes are still working, although clearly your senses aren't."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not the one who will be answering the questions Eragon! But, I figure you should know what is going on."

Arya lied down in bed, waiting for Eragon to come back. After a few minutes of waiting in complete silence, she decided to go see what was going on. Quickly, she got out of bed and put on some clothes.

Arriving downstairs, she found the front door wide open and no one in the house. It took he a millisecond to figure out the Eragon must be in trouble.

She raced out the door, closing it behind her. She frantically looked for any signs of where he could have gone. After a few minutes of panic, she picked up his scent.

She bound after him, not wanting to think about what she might find. Later, she found that the scent led to an older looking house with the front door hanging off its hinges and the shutters either fallen off or just blowing in the slight breeze. Just your average stereotypical haunted house.

Hesitantly, she walked into the house, ready for anything. In the first room, she saw Eragon, laying, strapped onto a table. His entire body was covered in cuts and bruises.

Arya's heart nearly stopped at the sight of him, not because he was so badly hurt, but because he seemed to not be breathing.

**Sorry for the ridiculously short chapter, I figured this would be a good stopping point for all of my readers to guess what happens next, no that I think about it, I could have just added this on to my last chapter, oh well. **

_**Important: **_**I need six reviews for this chapter before the next one is posted.**


	15. Chapter 15

Arya ran to her possibly dead mate, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Just to be sure, she lied her head on his chest and attempted to listen to his heart. At first she could hear nothing, then, _thump. _

Oh, so softly, _thump_.

Wanting to get him out of there as fast as she could, she untied him from the table and picked him up. _How could anyone do this to someone in such a short span_ _of time? _she thought.

Not caring who saw, she sprinted out of the house and towards their home. While running, she looked at the unconscious Eragon in her arms. Most of the cuts didn't seem too deep, but there where a few that looked like they hit something vital.

Finally making it back to their home, she lied him on their bed and began healing him. She started on the deepest cuts, the ones that seemed fatal. After what seemed like hours, it appeared that he would live. By then her energy was almost drained.

She went to the door and locked it, then, using what little energy she had left, she placed wards around the house to ensure that they were safe. Once all the wards where in place, she barely made it to the bed, where she laid down next to Eragon. She snuggled up next to him and quickly fell asleep.

Arya woke to find that Eragon was sitting up, looking down at her. It took he a second to tell what was going on, but when she did she immediately sat up and flung her arms around him.

"Thank god your ok," she said.

He put his arms around her and said, "Arya, you need not worry about me-"

"Not worry about you!" Arya yelled, "If I wasn't there you would have died from your wounds, you should be glad I was there!"

"I am, but-"

"What happened anyway?"

Eragon couldn't believe it, she wasn't giving him a chance to talk. _I must have scared her to death._

Finally finding words he said, "It was Angela, she kidnapped me and tortured me."

"What? That can't be, Angela is our friend, she isn't evil."

"She's not," Eragon said as if it was obvious. Arya just stared at him with a confused look.

"She was forced to, if she hadn't, then Solembum would have been killed, it wasn't her fault."

"But who would kidnap Solembum like that? Who _could _take her and keep her?"

Eragon looked at her, a look on his face like he couldn't believe what he was about to say. "Islanzadi."

Arya speechless, well, even more so. _My own mother had my mate tortured, maybe she wanted him to be killed. _"Eragon, what happened? I-I don't understand. Why would my mother do that?"

Eragon gave a sigh, clearly tired. Normally, Arya would have let him rest, but she was to puzzled.

"She knows about our plan," Eragon began, "she has spies that told her and so she forced Angela to warn us not to leave."

"Eragon, I'm sure my mother wouldn't do that. I know she probably wouldn't agree with us about leaving Alagaesia, but she wouldn't torture you for it."

"Well, apparently she doesn't want you to leave so badly that she would."

Arya was silent for a minute, thinking about the possibility of this being the truth. "Then what do we do?" Arya said, believing that it was.

"I will go to Jacob today and tell him the deal is off," Eragon said sadly, obviously saddened about being forced to stay.

"That's it?" Arya asked, "Your giving up just like that?" Then she heard Eragon's voice in her mind.

_No, we will still leave, only we will make it seem like we are giving up._

"Yes," Eragon said out loud.

Arya put a fake stunned face on in case they were being watched. "Oh…fine…if you are not willing to go, I will not leave either." Arya then laid back down, bring him with her, and held him close to her.

Eragon woke up a few hours later, Arya still asleep beside him. He still got the same thrill that he did when they first slept I the same bed. He still remembered waking up with her wrapped around him. He still remembered their first kiss, their first mate, a whole lot of firsts.

All of these memories made him not want to leave. He wanted to stay where these memories happened, so he could go back to those places and share those memories with Arya, but then he remembered why he wanted to leave in the first place.

He did not want to become another Galbatorix, he did not want to kill anymore, he did not want to lead. He still remembered that dream he had that night two years ago, the dream that finally convinced him to want to leave.

He slowly got out of bed, careful not to wake Arya, and got dressed.

"So, Jacob, I will pay you your gold, but my mate and I can't take the trip," Eragon said aloud to Jacob. He had quickly understood the situation and acted how he was needed to.

_So how long do we have to keep up this act? _Jacob thought, immediately learning how to communicate with his mind.

_Until we leave _Eragon thought back.

"What of the crew that I already brought here?" Jacob asked, keeping the act on.

"You wanted to leave anyway, you can leave just as before, only now there will be two less crew members."

"Well, if you are certain that you don't want to come, then so be it." So then Jacob got up and left the bar.

Eragon stood up too, ready to leave. But then he heard a voice speak to him.

"So, I see you have taken my warning into account."

Eragon turned to see her behind him, sitting about two tables away.

"Hello Islanzadi," Eragon said coldly.

"Oh, Eragon, I hope you didn't take my warning personally. You are a good mate for my daughter, I merely don't wish for you and her to leave forever," Islanzadi said in the sweet voice she always spoke in ever since she learned that her daughter had found a "suitable" mate.

"I know, but did you really have to get Angela to do it?"

"Well, I needed to use someone you trust in case you saw her from afar."

"Right," Eragon grumbled, "Anyway, did you return Solembum to Angela?"

"Of course, I am true to my word."

"Uh-hu," Eragon said, walking away.

"I truly am sorry about the torture, Eragon!" Islanzadi yelled after him. "And I am glad that you have decided to stay!"

After that, Eragon walked out of the bar, on his way home.

**I really am sorry about the short chapter before this. Anyway, I will try to make each chapter from now on at least 1000 words, I hope that is long enough, other authors might make longer chapters, but 1000 words is long enough for me, so anyway, please review. I got my six reviews pretty fast last time, so now I ask for eight reviews now! Otherwise I kill Eragon and Arya! **


	16. Chapter 16

It was the night before Eragon and Arya were to set off, both of them couldn't sleep, and they still had to keep up the act in case any spies of the queen were around. Even in their own home, they still couldn't talk out loud about the trip.

_Were the provisions sent? _Eragon asked Arya mentally.

_Yes, Eridor brought them to Jacob while he was supposedly sleeping _Arya responded.

They were both pretending to sleep, wrapped in each other's arms. The night went by slowly as they fell into the trance-like state that elves called sleep.

Both Eragon and Arya woke up at the same time and got out of bed. After getting dressed, Eragon said, "I'm going to the market to pick up a few things," still keeping up the act. The market was right next to the docks, where Jacob's ship was ready to set sail.

"I will come with you," Arya said, "I need to get one or two things too."

Wanting to make it seem real, Eragon said, "Why not just tell me and I will pick them up for you?"

"No, no, I will come with. Besides, it will give us a chance to spend some time together."

So they set off toward the market, being sure not to so much as mention the docks, which was a little tricky considering that it was right across from them.

After a few minutes of walking, the made it to the strip of stores that was their destination.

_Are you ready to leave Saphira? _Eragon asked his dragon.

_Ready as I'll ever be _he heard her respond.

Arya was having the same conversation with Eridor, making sure he ready to fly. They had considered taking Saphira and Eridor flying and meeting the ship out at sea, but they figured that any spy would notice the two dragons getting ready and alerted Islanzadi.

They could both see Jacob, not far from them, getting the ship and crew prepared for the long journey ahead of them. There seemed to be around twenty crewmen, which seemed like a small amount considering how big the ship was.

They continued on their way through the line of shops, pretending to be interested in various things, until they were directly across from the ship. Eragon was amazed that no one seemed to be suspicious about them going so near the ship on the very day it set sail.

They watched as the ship was being readied for sail, pretending to be extra interested in a necklace at the jewelry shop that they were at. Eventually the ship was ready to leave, and so Eragon and Arya simply walked onto the ship, not attracting any attention.

After getting on, the small staircase that was used to let passengers board the ship was removed and the ship set sail to Sharktooth island.

"Well," Eragon said, as they were walking down under the deck of the ship, "that was easy, I thought someone would try to stop us."

"Oh, there will always be someone to stop you Eragon," a voice said from the shadows.

Eragon and Arya twirled around to look at the mysterious person.

"I suppose I shall just have to take you back myself," Islanzadi spoke.

"Over my dead body," Eragon said, drawing Brisingr.

"Actually I already have your execution arranged," Islanzadi said as if there wasn't a sword pointed at her.

"What? You cant do that!" Arya said, surprised that her mother would go so far as to kill Eragon just to keep her in Alagaesia.

"Oh, but I can. You see, I specifically told him not to leave, yet he defied me, thus I have reason to kill him," Islanzadi said business-like. She then drew her own sword, apparently thinking that she would have the skill to defeat the man who killed Galbatorix.

Eragon, not necessarily wanting to hurt the queen, used magic to quickly end the situation. "Slytha," he whispered, knocking Islanzadi unconscious. **(I'm not sure if that's right or not. I don't have the book with me, so if I'm wrong please tell me.)**

Arya, thinking quickly, tied up her own mother with magic, which she hated to do, no matter how much she had hurt her.

It had been a week since Eragon and Arya set sail along with Jacob's crew. They had been keeping Islanzadi unconscious with magic the entire time, but soon they would e able to wake her. Sharktooth Island was visible on the horizon, and they would be there within the day.

"Will we need to pick up anything on the island?" Eragon asked.

"Maybe a little supplies, just in case," Arya answered.

"Perfect, then we should leave the island tomorrow morning."

The minutes of the day ticked by at an almost unnatural speed, for they soon found themselves on the shore.

After collecting food from the island a fire was made, where everyone gathered around with blankets for a night of good sleep. Finally, they could sleep on solid ground, there would be no waves to rock them back and forth.

Eragon woke to the sounds of screaming. Looking up, he saw the crew fumbling for swords and shields, only to be killed by cloaked figures.

"That's it! Kill every last one of these traitors!" he heard Islanzadi's voice call out. Instantly he knew who cloaked figures were.

_Elves _he thought. Quickly standing up, Eragon drew his sword, Arya appearing to do the same next to him.

Knowing that the elves where just following orders, he was careful to only knock them out. He and Arya being among the best fighters in Alagaesia, they were able to defend themselves.

The other elves surrounded them, occasionally slashing out towards them. Eragon blocked one of the hits and punched the elf that attacked him in the face.

Summoning the magic needed, he spoke a few words in the ancient language and blasted a hole in the crowding elves. Taking the chance, Eragon and Arya sprinted through the elves and toward the boat.

Looking back, Eragon saw what looked to be thirteen elves following them. Just as it seemed that they would be caught, two large masses landed between the other elves and Eragon and Arya.

_Go _they heard Eridor's voice in their heads.

_Yes, we will hold them off _Saphira added.

The two continued running to the ship, eventually jumping up, off the ground, and landing in it.

"What happened?" they heard Jacob ask behind them.

"What are you doing here?" Arya asked him, ignoring his question.

Used to her doing that, he answered, "A captain always sleeps on his ship. Now what happened?"

"We were attacked, Islanzadi must have had elves following her. Now we have to go!" Eragon rushed.

"We can't, we don't have enough men to control the ship," Jacob said.

"We have magic, now lets go!"

Eragon and Arya both started to conjure up the needed spells to control the ship, completely oblivious to Jacob's mumbling about how it would take twenty men to run the giant boat.

Slowly they started to set sail, Saphira and Eridor visible in the distance, breathing fire and swinging their talons at the elves.

Once they were out of range of any bows they stoped and alerted the dragons through their minds.

Hearing them, the two dragons took off and flew to the ship. Eragon and Arya looked back at the island, where the elves stood at the shore, silver hair dancing in the slight breeze.

In the distance they could hear the agonizing cry of Islanzadi, weeping over the fact that she would never see her daughter again.

Arya tensed, clearly affected by her mother's sadness.

Wanting to comfort her, Eragon wrapped his arms around her, one around her torso, and the other resting on her belly. **(hint, hint) **

Saphira and Eridor landed on the ship, a few scratches on their scales, but other than that they seemed fine.

_Let us leave _Eridor said, broadcasting his thoughts to everyone on the ship.

They set sail towards the land of Alalea, finally safe from the other elves, finally able to enjoy their freedom, finally able to be alone with each other.

**I hope you enjoyed the story. I know the ending could have been better, but this was good enough for me. Anyway, review and tell me what you think of my story.**


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